Universal Planning Cheap CDs to Combat iTunes

Well isn't this amusing? Universal Music Group is apparently working on low-cost, no-extras-included CDs in order to match the price at which iTunes currently sells music. The new discs will retail for around £7, or $12.84, and will feature a simple cardboard sleeve and no booklet. Problem is, $12.84 is hardly a discount for a CD, especially when you consider the lack of plastic case and booklet. Albums on iTunes can be had for as little as $9.99 (though newer albums are sometimes priced higher). The final straw in this "ingenius" plan is that these "discounted" CDs are only for older releases; newer discs won't be available this way. Sorry guys, but you're going to have to try something else.

[via Reg Hardware]